Sweet Nothings
by magiart
Summary: Kallista Raj has had her fair share of people leaving her. Hell her mom even left her twice, but the serpents... They're family. Now she's going to have to find out what falling in love with a serpent means, even if she has to break all the rules to do it.
1. Flower Boy

8 years ago

"Mom," her small voice had called out.

"Where are you? Mom!" she had yelled.

Running down the stairs as fast as her tiny legs could take her; she searched the house high and low, not finding anything left of her mother's.

The only things left behind were her and her Dad.

3rd POV:

The summer before junior year had brought change on the Raj family, Kallista Raj and her single father, Anik Raj, had to face once again the face of the women who left them both.

Jess Raj had returned from the unknown to get a legal divorce, having left without telling either one of them she was going to go 8 years ago.

Once the ink on the papers was dry, she didn't stay a second longer.

And so Kallista's world had crashed down around her not once but twice.

Kalli POV:

"Hey Dad, I'm going out!" I yelled on my way out the door, not bothering to wait for a reply, I slammed the door shut.

I shivered as I made my way to my beat up car; the air was frigid around me, turning my fingers into icicles.

I sat in the driver's seat for a minute, just wondering if the sky was going to come crashing down on me, as if I already didn't have enough bad luck.

I started the ignition and blasted the heat, making my way to the only bar in town that didn't card and didn't care as long as you didn't scare easy; the Whyte Wyrm, a south side gang's bar, my mother's gang to be precise.

Parking my car in the lot already filled to the max with bikes, new and old alike, I headed i nside eager to be free of the chill that fall had brought with it.

Adjusting my eyes to the dim lighting and bustling sound, I slipped into a bar seat

I called out the familiar bartender, "Hey Topaz".

She gave me a quick smile, while finishing up an order on the other end of the bar.

"Hey Raj, jack and coke, heavy on the coke?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks Toni," I smiled in response.

"I know your dad's not a fan of the serpents, myself not included, so what are you doing here tonight?" she asked curiously, leaning against the bar, the light catching her uniquely pink and brown hair.

"You guys are the only place in town that doesn't card or call my dad, so here I am, against my better judgement because I sure as hell needed a drink," I said feigning nonchalance, taking a sip of my drink, letting the bubbles fizz out on my tongue before I swallowed.

"We heard what happened at home Kalli," Toni said, "the serpents... we talked to her, made sure she knew never to come back after what she did"

"Thank you" I whispered, suddenly grateful for my pseudo-family; who had taken care of me when my dad had gone off the rails the first time my mom left.

"Okay," was all she said in reply, understand the weight behind my words.

Before I could respond she added "you, me and Isa knew each other since diapers, if Isa wasn't a northsider, whose parents are assholes who believed Alice Cooper's shit about the southside, I'd be around all the time, but either way we got your back."

I nodded knowing the loyalty of her promise, of any promise made by a serpent.

I sent my dad a text saying I would crash at Toni's; he didn't know she was regularly locked out by her uncle and couch surfed with the serpents, but it would give me one less thing to worry about in the morning.

I tossed back my drink and told Toni to hit me with something stronger, wanting to drink away the pain that was clawing its way to the front of my chest.

My drunkness plus lack of glasses at the moment was Toni's current entertainment as I whispered to Toni in a voice that would not be considered a whisper, "Who is this handsome gentleman?"

Toni's eyes following my finger to a liquor bottle at the end of the bar; laughing so hard she had to put down the drink she was making.

"That was priceless, but now i'm 100% sure that you are smashed, I'll call sweet Pea to take you to his. I'm crashing there after I finish my shift," she said still laughing.

"Nooooo, I don't wanna flower boy, I want another drink," I demanded sounding 10 years less than my current age.

"Well sweetheart, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm no flower" a deep voice said from behind me.

I turned and even in my drunk haze, my heart stopped, he was definitely a foot taller than me, and his eyes were a molten brown that held hints of laughter.

"Goddamn," I said, the numerous drinks I had consumed liberating me of my filter.

He laughed, his whole face lighting up, a dimple showing itself in his left cheek.

I reached out and pressed my finger against it, in the background I noticed Toni laughing, pointedly staring at sweet pea, as he curiously, looked at me for explanation for why I had my finger on his cheek.

"You have a dimple," I said happily as I turned back around to my drink, "She's a happy drunk, it makes her ridiculous," Toni said as if explaining my behavior to Sweet Pea.

"C'mon, time to go" Sweet pea said

"Nope nope nope," I said frowning, "I need to forget."

Sighing he scooped me up bridal style, "I don't know what you need to forget or why sweetheart, but I know that Toni wants me to take you to my place to sleep off the alcohol."

"Whatever" I said sullenly.


	2. The Morning After

I closed my eyes, we weren't even out of the lot yet and sleep had overcome me.

When I woke up, I enveloped in someone's arms, our legs tangled together, and my head pounding like the bass of a heavy metal song was in my brain.

His arms were holding me tightly against him, making it difficult to get up... scratch that, just move in general.

"Wake up" I whisper yelled as I wriggled one of my arms out from between us and poked him in the cheek, a sense of dejavu flashed through me and I didn't know why.

He cracked one eye open, and both his eyes widened in shock, realizing the position we were in.

"Sorry" he muttered as he let go and rolled to the other side of the bed.

"Uhh so my name's Sweet Pea if you don't remember, friend of Toni's, she's on the couch, you wouldn't let go when I carried your drunk self in yesterday so we both ended up here, and don't worry nothing happened," he said stringing the sentence together, sleep slightly slurring his words.

I nodded clutching my head, "Thank You," I said quietly.

He turned and saw my head in my hands, and his face immediately softened with concern,"Killer hangover huh? I'll get you some aspirin."

I nodded, wincing as the pounding in my head got worse. He brought me a glass of water and an aspirin, both of which i downed before I looked at him.

"Really, thank you" I said softly "anytime" he said, his voice rough with sleep, while giving me a quick smile, letting me catch a quick glimpse of a dimple.

A flash of last night came back to me, "Oh no," I groaned, "I have a killer sense of deja vu please tell me I did not touch your dimple last night… ugh even saying it sounds awkward."

"I'd be lying if I said you didn't, but don't worry about it," he said smirking at me from where he was leaning against the wall.

"Well I'm going to go wake up Toni, before I make an even bigger fool outta myself…" I said while pulling my hair in a quick bun that hung at the nape of my neck.

As I walked by him, he gave it a light tug, lips curling up as I swatted his hand away.

"Hey" he called out after me, "What were you going on about last night, saying you needed to forget something and Toni knows or something like that?"

I froze, shit shit shit I thought, I couldn't have told him anything could I?

"It was nothing don't worry about it," I shrugged as his eyes narrowed obviously not believing me.


	3. Lost and Found

"It wasn't nothing," he said, eyes peering at me like they saw straight through my walls.

"Well I'll deal with it because I dealt with it for 8 years and I'll deal with it now.

The serpents already got involved and I don't need anyone in my business." I said voice cracking.

"I'm a serpent," he said quietly. "So you already know don't you? You're smart enough to put two and two together, I'm the only half Indian running around the south side, who had an ex-serpent as a mother." I said quietly, the strength draining from me as the truth came out.

I kept the tears at bay, holding them in with a faulty dam that could explode any second.

He reached out and pulled me into a hug, and for the first time in a long time I felt safe, safe enough to let down my walls and cry like i've wanted to since I was 8 years old.

Sobs wracked my body, as he held me tightly against his chest.

We stayed like that long after my tears had dried, he had pulled my hair out of its bun and was running his fingers through it, smoothing it over again and again.

He tugged me back into the bedroom and pulled me onto his lap as we sat on the bed.

I felt so unmoored, it felt too intimate to sit in his arms , head cradled in his chest like this, but it felt so natural at the same time.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked simply after some time.

"Nothing to talk about, she left when I was 8, and she came back for a divorce, left as soon as she got one not wanting the serpents to make good on their threats. It's always been just me and my dad... and the serpents." I said into his shirt.

"Look at me Kalli," he said nudging my head up with his finger until I met his gaze.

"I know that's not all true, why do you think I live alone? My parents left when I was 14,so I joined the serpents, they became my family, gave me a way to keep my head above the water and not join the system. So I know it's not okay, but we don't have to talk if you don't want to." I was shocked into silence.

"I'm sorry Sweet Pea" I said, still looking into his eyes.


	4. Just Serpent Business

Breaking the silence he asked, "Breakfast at Pop's?"

"What about Toni? We can't just leave her." I said.

"Nah girl sleeps like the dead, she won't be awake until noon, she worked late, we'll bring

her back food," he said with certainty.

"Okay," I relented smiling at him.

I looked at what I was wearing, and there was a huge stain on the front of the shirt… and I

didn't want to know what from.

"Hey Sweet Pea?" I asked.

"Hmmm" he replied while pulling on his boots.

"Can I borrow a shirt, mine's in need of a wash at the moment." I asked, feeling the heat

rush to my cheeks, thank gods my skin was dark enough to hide the blush.

"Yeah, hold up I'll grab one for you," he responded.

Rummaging through his drawers, he pulled out a black t-shirt with a wolf stenciled on the back.

"Thank you," I murmured embarrassedly.

Slipping it on, I tied it above my wait, seeing as if I didn't it would fall halfway to my knees.

I pulled my jacket on over it and looked over at Sweet Pea, he was leaning against the door, his eyes took in the sight of me in his t-shirt, and his gaze darkened.

Luckily, Toni had shifted on the sofa, alerting us of her presence, sleeping or not, and he ripped his gaze away from mine.

We quietly made out way outside, making sure not to let the trailer door slam.

"Ever ride a motorcycle?" he asked his eyes glinting mischievously.

"No, but I warn you, I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie." I responded with a smile.

Laughing he pulled the tarp off his bike, and swung his leg over it.

He tossed me a helmet, and gestured for me to sit behind him.

Securing the helmet onto my head, I swung my leg over the bike and held on to him as the bike roared to life underneath us.

And we were off, the wind so fast it made my eyes blur, and the scenery going by so fast, I couldn't take it all it, but the feeling was like flying, it was exhilarating.

Too soon it was over and we were at Pop's, "We have to do that again. I don't even care if we get food, and you must know food is the most important thing ever."

I laughed, as we got off the bike.

He smiled, "How about we eat first and then I can drive you back to your house? That sound okay?"

"Well come on already," I said as I grabbed his hand pulling him towards the front door of Pop's.

He laced his fingers with mine, surprising me, but I didn't pull away.

Inside, there was a booth of what looked like older and retired serpents, I recognized FP, seeing as how I was close with Jughead, and gave a little wave.

Once sweet Pea noticed them, he straightened up, standing even taller and dropping my hand, his face that was calm and smiling outside, became stoic.

FP and the other serpents turned their heads to acknowledge us, and Sweet Pea tensed.

"Grab a booth, I'll be right there." He murmured in my ear, before walking to the group of serpents.

Within a minute, they were in a heated discussion, talking low enough that the other patrons of the dinner wouldn't hear.

It ended with Sweet Pea walking away, anger written all over his face, "Sweet Pea, are you okay? What happened?" I asked worriedly.

"Nothing, did you order yet? He asked, studying the menu with the studiousness of a s tudent right before an exam.

I reached out and pulled one of his hands toward me, I wove my fingers through his, and felt him tense at first, looking up, before relaxing.

The anger still evident in his face, I asked again "Sweet Pea, seriously what's wrong?" "It's serpent stuff, it's fine, trust me," he said for the first time since we walked into the dinner acting like he as carefree as he did this morning.

And so we fell into an easy conversation sharing stories and memories, laughing together.

After breakfast, I got the ride I was promised to my house.

Hopping off his bike, I pulled off the helmet I borrowed, but my hair got stuck in it.

Cringing from the pain of pulling hair out, I looked helplessly at sweet pea who looked like he was about to burst into laughter.

Chuckling lightly he gently helped untangle my hair from the helmet, his hand still in my hair as he pulled me closer, encircling me in a hug.

I buried my face in his shirt, enjoying the warmth and safety that was radiating from him.

He pulled away, giving me a once over, making sure I was okay, which brought a shy smile to my face.

"See you soon sweetheart" he responded the corners of his lips turned up in a half smile.


	5. Spill the Beans

My dad was at the kitchen counter, "Morning" he murmured into his cup of coffee.

Dad was most definitely not a morning person.

"I heard a bike outside, was it a serpent?" he asked as curiously as his half-awake self could.

"Yup, his name's Sweet Pea, he picked me up from Toni's for breakfast at Pop's. He's a nice guy, dad, I mean sure he comes off a bit scary, but he's a good guy." I said in a rush, trying to introduce and defend him all at the same time.

"Mhmm" my dad hummed into his coffee while looking at me inquisitively through his thick glasses.

"Don't worry," I said rolling my eyes, as I rummaged around the kitchen to make him breakfast.

After all these years of the serpents taking care of me, my dad still hated them because my mom was one.

I went upstairs leaving my dad to his thoughts if you could even call them that this early in the morning.

I flopped onto my bed, wondering what had happened to me, I was stuck in this whirlwind of emotions and the scary part was I didn't want to leave.

Humming to myself I got up to go shower.

Realizing I was still wearing sweet pea's shirt, I held it up to my face, inhaling and feeling butterflies ripple through me.

I pulled it off and shoved it under my pillow, not wanting my dad to notice that I had come home in a different shirt than I left in.

I quickly showered and pulled on some clothes before calling Isa, my other best friend beside Toni.

She picked up on the first ring, "Hey K, what's up?" she mumbled sleepily into the phone.

"Nothing, I just maybe sort of met someone, and he sorta kinda might be a south side serpent," I said trying to sound like I didn't care, but failing miserably.

"What!" she asked disbelievingly "Okay hold up, I'll pick you up in 5 and you can treat me to Pop's while I live vicariously through you," she said before clicking off the call not even waiting for a response.

Sighing to myself knowing I wouldn't persuade her out of coming I headed back downstairs to tell my dad that once again I wouldn't be at home, much to his irritation.

He only relented when I told him Isa wouldn't take no for an answer and was already on her way.

We both turned as we heard a honk outside,"Well that me," I said, "bye, love you, dad," I threw out behind me as I flew out the door, letting it slam behind me.

Throwing myself in the passenger seat, I told Isa,"Drive before he changes his mind"

"On it boss," she responded cheekily.

"Is Toni coming? because if she is I have to double check where my parents are and we have to sit in the back, also Romero say hi" she said in a rush, chewing her lip worriedly.

"I don't know I'll ask her to hold up, also morning little man," I said to Isa and her little brother while punching out a text to Toni.

She quickly responded saying she can't, that she had serpent stuff, but to fill her in later. "she said she's busy," I relaid to Isa.

"Hmm" she hummed in response.

Stopping the car, we clambered out, I smiled thinking of how not very long ago I was walking through these doors with a very different person.

I held Romero's hand helping him up the front steps of Pop's, while Isa held the door open absentmindedly.

Once we secured a booth, Isa told Romero to order something for breakfast,but not a burger, and ordered for herself, plus a milkshake for me.

"Okay spill now" Isa said burning a hole through me with her gaze.

"His name's Sweet Pea," I said before I was interrupted by a snort, "I'm sorry, but Sweet Pea?" Isa said laughing.

"yeah shut up Isabel," I muttered, "Do you want me to tell you or not?" That shut her up, she nodded sagely waiting to hear what had happened.

"I went to the wyrm yesterday night… I wanted to get smashed, and I did. I barely remember last night, but Toni made him take me back to his place because she was crashing there and wouldn't get off work for a while, so he did. Except my drunk as a skunk self had fallen asleep and wouldn't let go of him when he carried me into his trailer so we ended up sleeping in his bed together. I woke up and he was so calm and I was there looking like a drowned rat and just ugh," I said letting my head fall to the table with a bang while Isa laughed at me.

"Continue I want to hear the end of this" she said while chuckling under her breath.

"He made me feel better, I told him about my mom and he just held me, I mean I literally had a mental breakdown and cried all over him, snot and all, then after I was done embarrassing myself he took me to pops for breakfast, he was acting a bit weird when we got to Pop's though, but he dropped me home on his motorcycle." I finished rushing through my story with an excited squeal.

Isa stared at me speechless, her mouth hanging open, "wait hold on rewind, so this guy, a huge biker guy, held you while you cried out emotional baggage, and then took you out to breakfast?" she asked in awe.

"mhm" I said with a small grin thinking of how his arms felt around me.

"Damn K," she said with a smirk, before a realization hit her, "wait Kallista… he's southside serpent isn't he?"

I bit my lip, nodding worriedly, "yeah," I said tentatively, "but he's a good guy," I defended.

"I know they're good people, but they're still a gang Kalli" she said worriedly, looking around anxious someone would overhear and tell her parents who would make her life a million times harder.

I nodded, "I know, considering it's a serpent by blood, I can take up initiation anytime because of my mom even if she was a deserter. That technically gives me gang affiliation at least in the eyes of sheriff Keller when he locked up all the serpents last year, and took me in too." I said with a bite in my voice, remembering the particularly nasty memory.

"Then promise me you'll be careful" she said.

"Of course when am I not?" I said with a cocky grin trying to alleviate the serious mood.

"Hey Romero what are you staring at?" I asked the little boy, following his gaze to a group of people outside the window.


	6. Whiplash

It was a group of serpents, Toni, Sweet Pea and a few others I knew because of my time at south side high.

Decked out in leather and dark jeans, their tattoos on display, leaning against their bikes.

I caught Toni's gaze, I sent her a questioning look, she shook her head slightly a gesture of warning.

I shifted my gaze catching Sweet Pea's eyes, his eyes lit up for a second before they shut down, like a wall had come between us.

Confused I turned away feeling like something had happened between us since this morning, but nothing had.

"Who is that?" Isa asked I followed her stare to the guy standing next to sweet pea and Toni, he had tan skin, and dark hair and eyes, paired with the ever-fashionable scowl, he looked menacing, but I knew he was a sweetheart inside.

"That's Fangs Fogarty, he's helped me out of a jam or two when I went to south side high," I said noncommittally.

I looked at Isa and she seemed to have forgotten about her parents harsh views on the serpents for a second while she took him in.

Shaking her head as if to get rid of a daydream, "Right well, let's get out of here I need to drop Romero off at his friends house and clean the house up, mom and dad threw some stuff around yesterday during their fight," she muttered angrily.

"I'll come with, you'll need help cleaning it up before they come back, whenever they do come back" I said gently, knowing me for years Isa didn't argue.

We slid out of the booth, leaving money on the table for the bill.

We each grabbed one of Romero's hands, smushing him on either side, making the little boy laugh.

Hearing his laugh, I smiled as we walked out of the store, pulling his hand out of his sister's grasp, he tugged on my shirt, "spin spin" he giggled making grabby motions with his hands.

Laughing I complied, picking him up and twirling in the parking lot, forgetting for a minute about the serpents still standing there with scowls painted on their faces.

I nodded to Toni, who's stoic face slid away to a grin, as she saw Romero.

"TONI" he screeched in my ear as he saw her smiling face.

Looking back at Isa for permission, she gave me a nod following a few steps behind.

I put him down, and hurried along next to him, in case he tripped on the gravel running to Toni.

Toni squatted down to his height, arms open ready for the hug he was about to barrel himself into.

"Hey little man, how are you?" Toni asked him holding him tight against her.

He giggled, "goooood" he said pulling lightly on a stand of her pink hair.

Picking him up, she introduced him to the serpents, "guys this is Romero, Isa' little brother, you know Isa from school"

"Jug-Jug," Romero squealed, making grabby hands, so that he could be handed off to Jughead, who smiled and stuck his tongue out at Toni, "I guess we all know who he like the most now" he said laughing at Toni.

Romeo hid his face in Jughead's shirt, peering out at the other serpents until his gaze came a stop at Sweet Pea and Fangs.

"This is Sweet Pea and Fangs," Juggie said noticing the little boy's line of sight. Romero looked at them for second before saying, "Kalli says you're nice," before he started rambling asking a mad dash of questions,"what are those snake drawings? and cool jackets! do you guys smile? is that a motorcycle? ISA CAN I RIDE A MOTORCYCLE?!" Their scowls faded away into chuckles as they tried to keep up with his questions.

Before they could get in a word, the roar of motorcycles cut through the conversation, we all turned to look at who it was.

A group of ghoulies, hopped off their bikes, one of them stepped to the front, "you wanted a fight, beat up one of us, well now you've got it" Jughead responded, "We take it to the street, no knives, or guns, fists only," I turned to look at Sweet Pea, who had anger written all over his face.

Toni handed Romero off to Isa, as I spun around to look to for Sweet Pea, not finding him before Isa pulled me away.

We locked ourselves in her truck, before speeding out of the lot, I turned back in my seat wanting to see Sweet Pea.

I caught his eye at the last second, and there was nothing there, only coldness and anger.

That was the last thing I saw before we sped out of sight.


	7. Best Friends and Bruises

After we dropped Romero off at his friend's house for a playdate, we headed back to Isa's house to clean up the mess left behind by her shitty parents.

They had opinions and strict rules when it came to everything, but they didn't actually give a damn about raising Isa or Romero, they threw things and yelled and screamed when they fought with each other, and left bruises on Isa when she didn't follow their perfect rules.

The only reason she wasn't out of that house or didn't call the cops on them was that she'd be split up from Romero, she shielded him from as much of it as she could, and she raised him, she couldn't lose him.

We got to her house, staring at the shattered glass littering the living room flood, Isa let out a heavy sigh, "be careful don't get cut, pick up the big pieces, and i'll go get the vacuum." she said tiredly.

We cleaned up the mess in silence, and when we were done, Isa let out a sob, I hurried over to her, pulling her into a hug, while she cried into me, letting go in a way she couldn't with Romero around.

Once she had calmed down, she said,"I want to get us out of this house, but there's nothing I can do."

And so with nothing we could do, we stared desperately into a blank void, hoping an idea would come, when the phone rang, I picked it up, a voice over the receiver said,"Hello, it's almost 2, you said to give you a ring when Romero was ready to be picked up."

"yes thank you, be right there" I said back. We picked up Romero and Isa dropped me off at home on the way back.

I waved as I slipped through the front door, forgetting it was my dad's day off from the hospital and nearly running into him.

"Jesus! Dad you nearly gave me a heart attack" I said clutching my chest.

"Yeah well it nearly damn gave me a heart attack when I heard there's was a gang fight at Pop's, I don't want you around the serpents, not even Toni and Jughead, at least not when they're on serpent business." he said anger rising in his voice, "and especially not that hoodlum, Sweet Pea, whom I heard started the fight-"

"Dad, you don't know they're side of the story please" I said desperate not to lose my friends… my family because of a long-standing prejudice my father had.

"No that's the last I want to hear of it, I won't have those hoodlums in my house," he said with anger, clearly at his blowing point.

Not waiting for my response he walked out and slammed the front door shut.

Fuming I texted Jughead, Toni, and Fangsi telling them what had happened, I wanted to text Sweet Pea too, but I realized I didn't have his phone number.

I calmed down knowing Jughead was the serpent king, he'd tell everyone what had happened, the boy was so smart he had probably already thought a way around it.

I just had to have hope in that.

So all I could do now was wait, no doubt if I went looking for the serpents, someone would start a rumor and it wouldn't take long to get back to my dad.

I headed up to my room and grabbed a random book off the numerous stacks all over my room, one day I was going to get another shelf, but today is not that day.

I stretched out on the floor with my dog, Zuko, he turned his head towards me seemingly uninterested as he yawned and stretched out further on the carpet, licking my nose as a gesture of affection before he fell back asleep.

"good boy" I murmured absentmindedly trying to get lost in my book so I wouldn't think about the serpents.

I flipped through the pages intently absorbing the story I had probably read a million times, but never got bored of, just when I was getting to the best part, a knock on my window startled me out of my reverie.

I grabbed one of the solid plastic swords I had made with Jughead and FP when I went through a fantasy book phase, holding it up like a bat I walked over to the window, Zuko now on alert staring at the window intently, teeth bared.

Opening the window I peered out, just as I was going to close it again not seeing anyone an arm grabbed my wrist, I let out a blood curdling scream, hitting the person with the sword, causing them to let go of my hand.

I held the sword out as if about to skewer my attacker, when I realized it was Sweet Pea,

"Jesus Christ! Can't you use the door like a normal person" I said dropping the sword in relief.

"yah well I would have used the door if I knew you would hit me with- is that a sword?" he asked. "yes," I said defensively.

"You're an enigma Kallista Raj" he said shaking his head and wincing from the movement.

Looking him up and down, I saw that he was covered with bruises and cuts.

"C'mon I'll get you an ice pack and fix you up," I said, knowing his injuries were probably from the fight with the ghoulies, I gave him some room to climb into the room.

Zuko had once again had flopped on the ground asleep, shaking my head at him, I gestured at Sweet pea to follow me, grabbing an pack of frozen peas from the freezer, and a first aid kit from a cabinet I set them both on the table.

He sat down in one of the chairs facing me, looking anxious as I rifled through the first aid kit.

Biting my lip I asked, "why are you here Sweet Pea? You could have gone anywhere, to any serpent's house, I'm not even a serpent, and-."

"One of the ghoulies said he knew you, that he saw me with you yesterday when we left the Wyrm, I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said staring intently at me.

"His name is Ren, I'm a bit of a bookworm, and his dad owns the only second-hand bookstore in town. Nothing has ever happened between us, I also have enough common sense to know that I'm tied in with the serpents, even if it's not official, and hanging around a rival gang member would get me caught in a crossfire." I said explaining the ghoulies behavior.

He nodded, accepting my explanation without question, which surprised me.

I expected him to try and shake the story out of me, doubting the truth.


	8. I'll Be There

Author's note:

Hey guys!

I was thinking about maybe trying to do a chapter from Sweet Pea's POV to try and explain things more. Tell me what you think! Also thank you so much for reading. :)

* * *

I cleaned bandaged Sweet Pea's cuts and bruises, stitching up the one cut that was too deep to bandage.

He didn't even flinch when I put the needle through his skin, his muscles tensing under his shirt which sculpted him perfectly.

Just as I finished with the stitches, I heard the car park out front, "shit my dad can't know your here, move move move," I said pushing him towards my room, slamming the door behind us, just as the front door opened, letting out a sigh in relief I sagged against my door, noting for the first time how close Sweet Pea was.

His gaze darkened as if realizing that while listening for trouble, he was pressed up against me, holding me against the door with his body.

He abruptly took a step back, I opened my mouth to question him, but he looked away and gestured for me to be quiet, my dad still somewhere in the house.

"Crap," I muttered under my breath, "Wait here, I'm going to go see where my dad is, you can not climb out the window all bandaged up." I whispered, "and if you try to climb out the window while I'm gone, I'll add another bruise to that collection of yours" I threatened to try to look as menacing as I could with him towering over me, smirking at me.

"Yes sir" he whispered back, not even trying to hide the smug look on his face, but even that sounded empty.

Exasperated and worried, I shook my head and slipped out the door making sure it was firmly closed behind me.

I cautiously walked down the hall, making sure my dad wasn't looking for me.

"Fuck," I said taking in the sight on the kitchen table, beer bottles littered the counter and a few rolled on the ground.

My dad always took to the bottle, sometimes to have fun, other times he claimed he needed one to relax, but I knew that he was taking the easy way out.

I did it once last night and I wasn't proud, but at least I didn't abandon my kid for a drink.

I thought it had gotten better, but I guess not, It was only 5 in the afternoon and he had passed out on the couch.

Shaking my head, I wiped away angry tears.

I yelled, "you can come on out Sweet Pea", knowing nothing would wake my dad up.

I heard heavy footsteps heading towards me, then the clinking of bottles and swearing as he tried to pass through the kitchen.

"You're so smooth Sweets," I said rolling my eyes, pushing away the bottles on the floor, making my way towards him.

"Your old man a drunk?" he asked.

"Like I said until the last couple years, I was pretty much raised by the serpents, and you can guess why," I said huffing out a breath, blowing a piece of hair out of my face.

Nodding his face became stoic, like the calm before a storm.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into a hug. I sighed and relaxed into him, in a tight whisper he said, "Kallista, listen I can't be around all the time, but if you need me. You call me and I will be there okay sweetheart?"

"one small problem," I said mumbling into his chest.


	9. Promises

Pulling slightly back he curiously looked at me questioning my choice to forgo his promise.

"I don't have your phone number," I said nervously, not wanting to look into his eyes, heat already rising to my cheeks from the close proximity.

"Easy fix, what's your number?" he asked, his body relaxing against mine.

As I rattled off the string of digits, I leaned my head against, his chest, hearing the thump-thump of his heart; a soothing rhythm that put me at ease.

"There I sent you a text, now you have my number and I have yours, anything happens you call, you text me, I don't care I'll answer even in the dead of night, especially with your pops passed out like that," he said while pulling me closer to him.

"Promise?" I asked sarcastically, confident that he was bluffing, just saying things he wouldn't do good on.

"Hey, look at me," he said nudging my chin up,

"I promise, if you need me then I will be there."

"okay," I whispered my voice cracking with emotion.

"Why? People don't make these kinds of promises for people they just met, and not for free…" I said quietly.

"I've been where you are, and I sure as hell am not going to leave you alone to go through it, plus who else is gonna be my own personal nurse, would I be pushing it if I asked for a sponge bath?" he said jokingly.

I smacked him, rolling my eyes, I just burrowed deeper into his jacket.

He tensed suddenly as if realizing something, and before I could ask what was wrong, he had pulled away and was headed towards the door.

Before he slipped out the door he said, "remember only if you need me, if it's not important do not call".

The door slammed shut behind him, leaving me alone with the beer bottles in the kitchen and a world of problems.

Pulling myself together I started to clean up the kitchen.

Making sure the bottles didn't break as they clinked together in the trash can, because that would just cause a larger mess to clean up.

"I should talk to FP, see if he could knock some sense into my dad before he completely fell off the wagon, especially because FP went through AA.

It wouldn't go over well, but it might kick start my dad again." I thought.

As I cleaned up the last bits of glass and wiped down the counters to try and get rid of the stench of alcohol, I dialed FP's number.

Taking a deep breath, I went outside and pressed call, making sure if my dad woke up he couldn't hear me.

"Kallista," he said worriedly, knowing I hadn't called him for years until my mom came back and now again a few weeks after... so it must have been something bad.

"There are beer bottles everywhere, and he's passed out on the couch, can you talk to him?" I asked tiredly, rubbing my head trying to make I go away.

"Shit Kid, you know your dad hates the serpents, do you really think the best thing to do is have me talk to your old man?" he asked through the phone.

"It's not the best idea, but it's the only idea I have… I can't live with him like this, but you know how angry he gets when he's drunk and I'm not home." I murmured quietly.

"Yah... Yeah, I know kid," he replied defeatedly.

"I'll see what I can do, but no promises, you know the serpents have to protect their own first," he said.

"Wait... what do you mean? Protect their own? You're just talking to my dad, right?" I asked, confused by FP's statement.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it, and you should call Jughead, he's been worried about you since the fight with the ghoulies this morning," he said anxiously.

"Okay, thanks FP," I said tentatively, knowing he was hiding something from me.

Ending the call, I clicked on Jughead's number next.

As soon as he picked up he immediately said, " Okay I don't really have much time, I know you're okay because SP's been to see me, but he also told me about your dad.

I'm not supposed to get involved, but if you need the serpents we got your back.

Also, you know that whenever you want to… if you want to, initiation is open to you.

We can do a hell of a lot more for you if you're actually a serpent. So just think about it… yah?"

"I'll think about it Juggie. I just need some time... Thank you," I said quietly.

"Don't worry about it, you know Toni and Isabel would come storming the castle to help you, but the serpents- hey Betty give the phone back to me!"He said as the phone was grabbed away from him.

"Kalli, Hi. Okay so all Jughead is saying is that we're all here for you, whatever you need."

"Hi Betty," I said smiling, "You're a good friend"

"Well we could be family if you became a serpent, seriously think about it, I know all about home life not being easy and sometimes you need to find your own family," she replied quietly.

"I know, but I can't just jump into initiation when everything is in shambles, I need to sort through some stuff," I said sadly, wanting the freedom that would have come with being a serpent.

"I'll see you guys around, say bye to Juggie for me," I replied quickly before ending the call.


	10. Together at Last

A Few Days Later

It was the middle of the night and yet again, as I was finishing up another shift at Pop's my dad came stumbling in, drunk, into the nearly empty shop.

"Kalli, Kalli, Kalli. I heard a rumor at the wyrm that there was a serpent boy who liked you. He was telling his friends off, saying he'd come to get you if you were in trouble. Are you in trouble?" he asked angrily.

"Huh? That bastard of a boy going to save you?" He asked in a quiet rage.

"Well don't worry I took care of him, won't have my daughter becoming the whore of some serpent." he said as he approved himself with a self-satisfactory nod.

"Dad… What did you do?" I asked scared for Sweet Pea.

"Well you see, it's not your business, it's serpent business." he replied smiling to himself, as he decidedly stumbled back out of the shop.

"Pop!," I yelled, "I've got a bit of an emergency, I promise I'll work an extra shift later to make up for it, but I have to go I'm so sorry," I explained in a rush, untying my apron and grabbing my things.

"Don't worry about it, now go check on that boy of yours." he said as I took off. I drove to Sunnyside trailer park at breakneck speed, my car skidding in the gravel as I parked right outside Sweet Pea's trailer.

I knocked furiously on the door until it opened and I almost knocked on Sweet Pea's chest instead.

Looking up, I gasped, seeing his face, bloody and the bruises already forming.

Now that I was looking more closely I saw his shirt was torn up and soaked through with blood.

He had a large slash on his arm that was bleeding against a towel he was holding on it.

"Kalli," he said surprised, looking around outside as if making sure no one was looking, grabbed me roughly inside and slammed the door behind us.

"What happened?" I demanded, "My Dad walks into Pop's during my shift, drunk rambling about making sure I wasn't going to end up with the serpent boy who was talking about me at the Wyrm."

"Long story short, Your Dad knows his way around the serpents, has some pull with them, they told me to back off, I said no, this is what happens to a serpent that says no." he muttered angrily.

Biting the inside of my cheek, as to not blow up in anger, I instead started to rifle around the first aid kit that was on the table.

"Take off your shirt." I said looking at the torn up dirty piece of cloth that would probably make things worse.

He tried to smirk, but his lip was busted and it came out as a grimace.

"Not so smooth now are you?" I asked rolling my eyes with a small smile, at his failed attempt to make a pervy joke.

"I'm a very funny guy," he said trying to smile, but once again wincing in pain.

"Hey smart guy, shut up for a few minutes so I can fix you up unless you want to look like Carrie?" I said as laughter tinged my voice.

He quieted down while I bandaged him up, and stitched up the cut on his arm, only saying something when he was in pain.

It took me an hour before I had finished up, sticking the last bandage in place, I gave him some aspirin and water, knowing it must hurt a lot more than it looks, without the bruises fully formed.

"I always seem to be fixing you up, don't I? Anyway, you probably have a concussion, so you can't sleep okay?" I said while cleaning up.

"How do you know so much about all this stuff, I mean you knew how to stitch me up." he asked in response.

"My dad couldn't always find a babysitter, and he wasn't a fan of the serpents so he'd take me to work when he remembered about me, and nurses' idea of fun was butchering bananas and teaching me to know the differences between what a broken bone, fracture, and sprain feel like" I said shrugging, knowing it wasn't the most ideal childhood.

"It's impressive," he said giving me a smile, even though it probably hurt to do that.

"Come on, I have a TV in the bedroom, if you aren't going anywhere you can keep me company because I'm not allowed to sleep, isn't that right doc?" he said mischievously.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled anyway, "Yeah I'll stay just in case you fall asleep." I said.

"What movie do you wanna watch?" he asked, shuffling through a cabinet full of discs.

"Up to you, you're the one who has to stay away." I said plopping onto the bed.

"Alright how about the original Spiderman movie, it's a classic"

"sounds good, it's one of my favorites," I said smiling.

He plopped the movie in and sat down next to me, I leaned against him slightly not wanting to add more pressure on any of his injuries.

"This is ridiculous," he stated matter of factly before he pulled me in between his legs, my back against his chest.

I turned around, looking him in the eye, silently asking him if he was okay.

He nodded back, staring deep into my eyes.

He leaned in, hesitant at first, but then he closed the distance between our lips.

It was a soft kiss, filled with all the things that could not be said.

His lips felt like molten against mine, pushing and pulling, teeth scraping lightly against my bottom lip as he pulled away.

"Was that okay?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yah… I mean yes." I responded smiling, as I settled back into his chest, relaxing against him as he held me.

His lips grazed my ear, and I felt the heat rise to my cheeks.

He whispered in my ear, "be my girlfriend?"

" yes," I whispered back, smiling as I turned around straddling him.

I held his face in my hands as I pressed a soft kiss against his split lip, his arms circled around me, pulling me closer to him.

Suddenly wincing, he let me go, and I crawled off him, making sure not to put any pressure on his bruises, not wanting to hurt him more.

I learned in his side, while he put his arm around me in a sweet protective gesture as if he could protect me from my problems.

With him by my side, I welcomed asleep, feeling safe and at home, an unusual set of emotions that I had never felt.


	11. Cute Blurb from Sweet Pea's POV!

Scene picks up right when Kallista falls asleep.

 **Sweet Pea POV (thoughts)**

She had come in here, almost knocking the door down, stitched me up, then kissed me.

Holy Shit…

She's my girlfriend.

Shit Shit Shit Shit.

Her dad just got me beat up for wanting to protect her and now she's my girlfriend, and there's word out that all serpents are supposed to stay away from her.

Mother fuck I'm breaking all of those rules, but I've never felt this way about anyone.

Hell no girl has ever taken care of me, and I sure as hell don't let anyone crash in my bed.

I've liked her since that night at the Wyrm when she was drunk out of her mind saying the craziest shit.

Now that I've got her, there's no fuckin way I'm letting her go, not without a fight.

Man, she gives me this feeling, like everything's right, even when it's totally fucked up, like peace or whatever.

She feels like home.


	12. The Truth Comes Out

A Few Weeks Later

"Dad!" I said trying to shake him awake.

It was only 11 AM, and I'd had to stay home from school to make sure he wouldn't choke on his own vomit.

He'd quit his job at the hospital, and I was now picking up extra shifts at Pop's trying to keep food in the fridge and the basic utilities paid.

I was avoiding my friends and Sweet Pea for the past few weeks other than passing them in the halls at school, I hadn't seen them; sweet pea to his defense had been trying, leaving me messages, stopping me in the hallway, sitting in my section at Pop's, but I didn't want to tell him how bad things were at home, that I was trying to keep it all together myself.

His eyes fluttered open, bloodshot and wild, he grabbed my wrist so hard I screamed out.

"Dad! Stop! It's me, Kallista!" I yelled, trying to wrench my hand out of his grasp.

He had flung me backward before he blinked blearily seeming to come to his senses.

"Kallista," he croaked out, reaching for me.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realize it was you. Darling-" he tried saying.

"No, it's 11 in the morning and you're too drunk to not know who your only daughter is. I'm leaving." I said harshly holding my wrist to my chest, while it throbbed with pain.

I stalked out of the house, letting the front door slam shut behind me, knowing everyone would be at school I didn't know where to go, except to FP's, he wouldn't go to the cops and he wouldn't tell anyone what had happened.

Slowly I made my way to the trailer park, it wasn't easy limping with pain the entire way there.

I knocked on the door and winced as another bolt of pain shot up my arm.

"Yeah I'm -" FP started to say as he opened the door, taking in the sight of my bruises.

"Inside now" was all he said after that.

I sat quietly on the couch, as he cleaned up the tiny cuts and the forming bruises, not saying a word.

After he was done, he said, "Kid, I can guess what happened, I'm sorry we weren't there for you. If you told us we would have come, but we weren't watching you… except for Sweet Pea ... even though I knew you're Dad fell off the boat."

I stared at him unsure of what he meant.

He cleared his throat before looking at the ground and said, "You old man… he cashed in the one favor the serpents owed him. We had to stay away or he would go straight to the sheriff with some of the things we've done in the past. I'm not saying we're bad people, but we've made some bad decisions and you're Dad knows about some of them, and he could get a lot of us locked up. So we stayed away from you, even though we knew he was drinking again. I'm sorry"

"No…" I whispered, "You're lying! It's not true, please tell me my dad wouldn't do that. Threaten you guys… I need some air."

I got up and walked out of the trailer; slumped onto the ragged worn steps of the trailer, holding the tears in.

"Sweet Pea, Jughead, Toni, even Fangs… no one told me.

They lied to my face…" I thought.

Looking up as I heard the roar of a bike, I saw Sweet Pea struggling to remove his helmet and park his bike at the same time.

Dropping his helmet to the ground, he rushed towards me, picking me up he enveloped me in a hug.

I pushed him away, turning my face away so he couldn't see how close I was to tears.

"Look at me please," he begged, his voice cracking from emotion.

"You lied to me, you said you'd be there for me, it was all a load of bull shit just watching me make sure I hadn't gone off my rocker because the other serpents wouldn't," I yelled, shoving him.

He grabbed both my hands and kept them still on his chest, "Kallista, you are not part of any serpent deal, not to me, I'm falling in love with you." he said his voice getting louder to trying and talk over my yelling.

"What game are you playing at?" I asked as I yanked my hands back, wrapping them around myself as if I could shield myself from him.

Before he could reach for me again, a hand shot out in front of me blocking him.

"Enough boy, you're causing a scene, the last thing you want is to make things harder for her when her father hears about this," FP said standing his ground, shielding me from Sweet Pea.

"You stand down, you hear me? I may be retired from the serpents, but I sure as hell know what I'm talking about," FP rumbled, as Sweet Pea desperately tried to catch my eye.

"I'm not giving up, Kallista… I won't give up on us. You've been hiding from me for the past few weeks and from the look of those bruises I can guess why, but I still tried to be there for you. I'm going to still be there for you." Sweet Pea promised, holding my gaze until I looked away, and even after that, I felt his stare burn a hole in me.


End file.
